Forged

Publisher's Summary

It is often said, even by critical scholars who should know better, that “writing in the name of another” was widely accepted in antiquity. But New York Times best-selling author Bart D. Ehrman dares to call it what it was: literary forgery, a practice that was as scandalous then as itis today. In Forged, Ehrman’s fresh and original research takes readers back to the ancient world, where forgeries were used as weapons by unknown authors to fend off attacks to their faith and establish their church. So, if many of the books inthe Bible were not in fact written by Jesus’s inner circle - but by writers living decades later, with differing agendas in rival communities - what does that do to the authority of Scripture? Ehrman investigates ancient sources to:

Reveal which New Testament books were outright forgeries.Explain how widely forgery was practiced by early Christian writers - and how strongly it was condemned in the ancient world as fraudulent and illicitExpose the deception in the history of the Christian religion.

Ehrman’s fascinating story of fraud and deceit is essential reading for anyone interested in the truth about the Bible and the dubious origins of Christianity’s sacred texts.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful

Made my Faith Stronger

I live in the middle of the Bible Belt. Springfield, Mo. is home to the Assembly of God and we have a baptist church on every corner. I have had several heated arguments with friends about the bible. One problem I have had is the inconsistencies in what the bible says. I especially had trouble with Paul's teachings. In one part of the bible Paul says that women can participate in church and in another they can't even ask questions in church, they are to wait until they get home and ask there husbands. In one part Paul wants everyone to be chaste, (No Sex) even with your spouse. In another women are suppose to have babies and raise them up in the church.

My friends are blind to these inconsistencies making up thinly veiled excuses and if you question the excuses you are awful and going to hell. I always had trouble with the wrathful God of the old testament and the loving God of the new testament being the same God and being perfect. My friends believe that God is perfect and the bible is perfect and if you question either, you are going to hell and burn forever.

First, I believe in a God who welcomes questions. I do not believe in a God who thinks men are superior to women. In order to not believe in a false god you must be able to ask questions. Second, I believe that Faith, means never having absolute evidence. Faith comes from the heart, it is something you know. Like you know that your spouse is the one for you, like when shopping for a house, you know the right one when you see it. Faith can not be explained, love can not be explained and God can not be explained.

Ehrman's book shows where parts of the bible are forgeries. My faith has always told me that Women and Men are equal and if you take out the forgeries, then that is what Paul actually says. Christians who believe that the bible is perfect and fear that if the bible was not perfect, they would not have faith, need to question there faith now. There will never be 100% proof that God exists and never 100% proof that the bible is perfect, if there was we would not have Faith.

This my second Ehrman book and they both were Five Stars. The narrator is excellent.

- Jim "The Impatient" "Paid reviewers, after two weeks get 4-8 votes and have that power to strike unhelpful against others. Check their history! Your money!"

Energetic and iconoclastic as usual

Bart Ehrman appears to write his books so that you can pick up any one of them without having read the previous ones. To some extent this results in repetition of basic principles, because many of his conclusions start from the same place. This one has less repetition of earlier material than some of his books. And while some may object to the term "forgery" in this context, he supports his conclusions with voluminous evidence; the terms may vary, but he is, like it or not, very much within the mainstream of 21st-century Biblical research. His main original contribution here is to go back to what ancient authors actually said about books falsely attributed to certain people: turns out the frequent argument that "attributing your book to your teacher or to someone famous was accepted practice in the ancient world" is simply not true. Ehrman shows his usual energy in following through on this idea. Clear exposition, well-narrated.